Rain, Rain, Go Away (So I Can Work Out)

Weeks of rainy weather is bad for levees, bad for the U.S. economy, and, on a far more trivial level, bad for anyone who likes to get her exercise outdoors.

I used to be an avid gym-goer, preferring the treadmill to running outdoors because it's temperature controlled and you can see exactly how far you've gone. But when winter backed off, I got a shiny new Giant Avail road bike, some padded shorts, and developed an addiction to feeling the wind under my helmet on six-mile rides. Now I don't think I can ever go back to boring old stationary spin classes again. The good news is I've found an exercise I actually don't mind doing; the bad news is that this week of rain is keeping me indoors, and inactive. But the Department of Health says there's an upside to having to move your workouts indoors for a few sessions: it actually reduces the effects of environmental health problems that can come with exercising outdoors, like asthma, airway irritation, coughing, and wheezing due to allergies or pollution.

While I realize that I could wait out the rainy streak by hitting the gym—and that my lungs might even thank me—I might just sit this one out as a good excuse to catch up on my Netflix queue.